Overview
- Two Japanese government sources told Reuters that President Trump asked Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to avoid further escalation with China, but Japan’s top spokesman Minoru Kihara publicly denied the account, saying “there is no such fact.”
- China’s Xinhua said Xi Jinping pressed the Taiwan issue in his call with Trump, describing the island’s “return to China” as integral to the post‑war order, while Trump’s public summary focused on trade and did not mention Taiwan.
- China’s Communist Party newspaper urged Washington to rein in Japan and prevent any “revival of militarism,” casting Takaichi’s remarks as dangerous and pointing to the significance of the Xi–Trump communication.
- Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te announced a nearly $40 billion supplementary defense package and a goal of achieving a high level of combat readiness by 2027, with investments in missiles, drones and cooperation with the United States.
- Japan is moving ahead with deploying a medium-range surface‑to‑air missile unit on Yonaguni; Beijing condemned the move and its Taiwan Affairs Office warned that foreign interference over Taiwan would be “crushed,” while Tokyo characterized the system as defensive.